Suspension of plates in plate heat exchangers



July 10, 1956 F. J. WENNERBERG SUSPENSION OF PLATES IN PLATE HEAT EXCHANGEIRS Filed Aug. 20, 1953 IN V EN TOR.

United States Patent Ofice 2,754,093 Patented July 10, 1956 SUSPENSION F PLATES 1N PLATE HEAT EXCHANGERS Fritz Johan Wennerberg, Lund, Sweden, assignor to Aktiebolaget Separator, Stockholm, Sweden, a corporation of Sweden Application August 20, 1953, Serial No. 375,513 Claims priority, application Sweden August 21, 1952 4 Claims. (Cl. 257-245) This invention relates to plate heat exchangers of the type in which the plates are supported on a common axis.

Plate type heat exchangers are provided with a supporting axis on which the plates are suspended and displaceably arranged in such a way that they can be pushed apart for cleaning. The plates usually are provided with an upwardly-opening recess for the supporting axis or rod. This recess is bridged by a locking device which rests on the supporting rod and by means of which the plate is thus suspended. For connecting the locking device with the plate, various arrangements have been pro posed and used. A screw, for example, has been arranged in each end of the locking device so that it has been pos sible to screw this latter tightly to the plate. Studs fastened to the plate by riveting or welding have also been used and by means of these the plate has been suspended on the locking device. However, none of the arrangements known has been quite satisfactory, since they have been expensive in make as well too bulky. They therefore cannot be said to constitute a satisfactory solution of the problem in question.

The present invention has for its principal object the provision of a plate-suspending arrangement which overcomes these and other drawbacks characterizing similar arrangements heretofore used.

The invention is characterized by providing each plate with a locking device designed to rest on the supporting rod, both the ends of the locking device being bent over to form hooks which engage in two holes in the plate for suspending the latter on the hooks.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the annexing drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through the top portion of a heat exchanger, showing the upper part of a plate as seen from in front; and

Fig. 2 is a section along line IIII in Fig. 1.

The plate 1 is provided with an upwardly-opening recess 2 for the supporting rod 3. The plate 1 is supported by an arcuate locking device 4, both ends of which are bent over so as to form hooks 5, which are passed through holes 6 in the plate. These holes are arranged in the transition between the plate 1 and an ofl-set portion 7, which is pressed up from the plate and laterally displaced perpendicularly to the plane of the plate. The play between the supporting rod 3 and the plate 1 in the recess 2 should be large enough to enable the plate to be easily hooked on the hooks 5.

The locking device 4 is provided at its upper portion with a tongue 8 bent out laterally, by means of which the locking device rests on the supporting rod 3. It is evident that the thickness of the locking device must be less than half the distance between two adjacent plates. By making the vertical dimension of the holes 6 sufiiciently large in relation to the hooks 5, the part 7 does not .need to be ofl-set from the plane of the plate. However, the enlargement of the holes required in this case entails a certain weakening of the plate. In the latter case, it may also be somewhat more diflicult to apply the plate to the locking device, unless the bend of the books of the locking device is V-shaped. With the bend in this form, however, the connection between the plate and the locking device becomes looser.

I claim:

1. In a plate heat exchanger having a supporting rod for suspending a plurality of heat exchange plates, the combination of a heat exchange plate having an upwardlyopening recess for receiving the rod, the plate also having holes at opposite sides of the recess, and a substantially flat arcuate locking device having its intermediate portion resting on the rod and having its ends bent to form hooks, the locking device curving downward from its intermediate portion to said books, the hooks being releasably engaged in said holes to suspend the plate on the rod.

2. In a plate heat exchanger having a supporting rod for suspending a plurality of heat exchange plates, the combination of a heat exchange plate having an upwardlyopening recess for receiving the rod, the plate also having at each side of the recess a pressed portion ofiset perpendicularly to the plane of the plate, the plate also having holes at opposite sides of the recess and each located in the transition between the plate and said pressed portion, and a locking device resting on the rod and having its ends bent to form hooks, the hooks being releasably engaged in said holes to suspend the plate on the rod.

3. A combination according to claim 1, in which there is a plurality of said plates evenly spaced along the rod and each having hooked therein a locking device as defined in claim 1, the thickness of each locking device being less than one-half the spacing between each pair of adjacent plates.

4. A combination according to claim 1, in which said locking device has a lateral tongue extending along said intermediate portion and resting on the supporting rod.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,493,767 Reimer May 13, 1924 2,601,974 Hytte July 1, 1952 2,621,028 Newhall Dec. 9, 1952 

